Optus of Australia announced Friday that Australians can sign up for Apple's iPhone 3G on July 11th with plans starting at just $19 ($18 USD), while a second carrier, Telstra, said its own plans will start at $30 ($29 USD).

Optus 'yes' Cap Plans for iPhone 3G

Optus is offering post-paid (with service contract) customers a choice of two different kinds of service plans. 'Yes' Cap plans start at $19 per month for 100MB of data and $50 worth of national calls and text messages based on call fees of of 47 cents per 30 seconds and text message fees of 25 cents each. The carrier also charges a 35 cent setup of "Flagfall" fee to establish each roaming call. Subscribers to the $19 per month plan can pay off a 8GB iPhone for $51 per month with a 12-month commitment or $21 per month with a 24-month commitment. A 16GB iPhone fetches $61 per month with a 12-month commitment and $26 per month with a 24-month commitment.

'Yes' Cap plans scale up to $179 per month for a package that includes 1GB of data and $1500 worth of national calls and text messages based on call fees of of 35 cents per 30 seconds and text message fees of 25 cents each. Again, Flagfall fees apply for initiating roaming calls. Under this plan, an 8GB iPhone is free with a 24-month commitment and costs $23 per month with a 12-month commitment. The 16GB is also free with a 24-month commitment and $33 per month with a 12-month commitment.

Each 'Yes' Cap plan includes two calling offers "Yes" Time and Free For 5. The former offers free 20 minute voice calls to other Optus GSM mobile users in Australia from 8pm to midnight 7 days a week, while the latter offers free 5 minute voice calls to mobiles on the same mobile account all the time.

Note: All prices in Australian dollars, which as of Friday were only 4 percent weaker than American dollars. As such, they have not been converted.

Optus 'yes' Plans for iPhone 3G

Alternatively, post-paid customers can choose from non-Cap "Yes" plans that include similar amounts of data each month, lower month spending allowances, but cheaper fees per minute once spending allowances have been reached for the month. For instance, the $19 monthly plan still includes 100MB of data, but only $14 worth of calls and texts. Additional calls cost 46 cents per 30 seconds and the Flagfall fee is only 25 cents per call. Text messages remain 25 cents a piece. Under this plan, a 12-month commitment allows customers to pay off the 8GB iPhone for $49 per month and the 16GB iPhone for month $59. The 8GB iPhone costs $19 per month and the 16GB costs $17 per month with a 24-month commitment.

"Yes" plans scale up to $149 for a package that includes 1GB of data and $144 worth of calls and texts. However, per 30 second call fees fall to just 19 cents under this plan once standard allowances have been reached (compared to 35 cents for the top tier "Yes" Cap plan). Yes plans, however, do not appear to include Voicemail as standard. "Yes" plan subscribers get to choose one of four calling offers: "Yes Time, MyTime (Free 5 minute voice calls to 5 family members or friends), Yes Free Text (100 free text msgs each month), or Yes Text & Talk (22 cents talk or text on any mobile, any time).

Yes plans also include rollover, rollback, Free for 5, and International Call Cap (Pay 15 cents per 30 seconds, capped at $3 for all calls up to 10 minutes).

Optus Pre-Paid iPhone 3G pricing

Separately, Optus is offering the 8GB iPhone for $729 without a contract and the 16GB model for $849 without a contract. Pre-Paid plans start at $30 with no data and scale up to $100 with 1GB of data. Unused credits expire at the end of each month.

Customers who connect to Optus Pre-Paid can receive $400 Bonus + 1GB internet browsing with $40 or more on Turbo Cap plans and receive EXTRA BONUS data every time they recharge.

Optus Pre-Paid is also offering a special offer - unlimited mobile internet browsing on Turbo Cap plans until August 31.

Telstra iPhone 3G plans

Telstra, another Australian iPhone 3G provider, also announced Friday that iPhone 3G will be available on July 11 with a range of specially designed Next G iPhone 3G plans. The Next G iPhone 3G plans start at $30 per month with an upfront cost of $279 for the 8GB model and $399 for the 16GB model. Customers will receive the 8GB iPhone 3G model at no cost with the $80 plan and either the 8GB or the 16GB model at no cost with plans starting at $100 per month. All plans include free Wi-Fi access at Telstra hotspots and require a 24-month contract.

What I'd first like to point out is that the article doesn't make the costs very clear for the actual iPhone itself. It sounds at times as though the iPhone is being offered for $51 for 8gb or $61 for 16gb on a plan that is only $19 a month and only under a 12 month contract. To be clear though, these prices are PER MONTH charges, not one off. So in the end, you'll pay over $600 for the 8gb iPhone on the cheapest plan.

Secondly, are the Australians so stupid that they would fall for these "pay $59, get $350 worth of calls" plans? I mean, look at those per minute charges, they are incredible. If they do, I should go there and offer everyone a plan for $100 a month - you'll get $1,000,000 worth of calls a month! In small print I'll note that it costs $100,000 per minute to call. Seems quite unusual.

"Under this plan, an 8GB iPhone is free with a 24-month commitment and costs $23 with a 12-month commitment. The 16GB is also free with a 24-month commitment and $33 with a 12-month commitment."

it looks like these costs are monthly repayment costs... whatever that means. I don't think you just pay 23 bucks and you get the phone. It looks like it's 23 extra a month... but I don't know how Australian rate plans work.

It appears that no matter what country the iPhone is offered in, you need to have a lawyer's eye to spot where you're being shafted. And make no mistake, everyone of them shafts you somewhere (no SMS, 50-cents a minute calling, no voicemail, huge early cancellation fee, etc.)

I guess this is what happens when they know they've got a product we're all going to fawn over. As huge an Apple fan as I am, I really can't wait until the competitors catch up so that there's some competition-induced rationality brought to bear on these plans.

On the Cap plans, you pay say, $59/month, and get $350 worth of credit (to use via SMS, MMS, voice calls, etc.), PLUS 500mb data, which is actually very good. You also pay a HANDSET repayment of $2/month on a 24 month contract.

On the yes plans, you don't get as much credit in your cap, but you get some Optus-related bonuses- these are more for people who don't use their phone much, but like lower call rates.

TBH, I'm waiting to see how much Vodafone offer the phone for in their plans (namely prepaid, so I can get it outright, as I'm locked to 3 [Hutchinson's Australian subsidiary] for another 18 months). 3 are yet to get the iPhone (http://www.3shopdirect.com.au/blog/?p=30), but I'm sure they will- just a matter of when.

But for those who don't live in Australia, Optus' Cap plans for the iPhone are actually very good, considering the data allowance. Before that, data was in the realm of 10-50mb at a price of $10-50/month extra, etc...thank goodness for the iPhone.

Also, for non-Aussies, Telstra is the biggest telco here, holding a monopoly on the broadband infrastructure. For the iPhone, the $80 plan isn't too bad, except you don't get any CAP options- you DO get their "NextG" 850Mhz network anywhere in Australia, but that's about it...

It appears that no matter what country the iPhone is offered in, you need to have a lawyer's eye to spot where you're being shafted. And make no mistake, everyone of them shafts you somewhere (no SMS, 50-cents a minute calling, no voicemail, huge early cancellation fee, etc.)

I guess this is what happens when they know they've got a product we're all going to fawn over. As huge an Apple fan as I am, I really can't wait until the competitors catch up so that there's some competition-induced rationality brought to bear on these plans.

Haha, this has been happening long before the iPhone came by I actually think the iPhone has introduced (at least to Australia) decent DATA plans...

What I'd first like to point out is that the article doesn't make the costs very clear for the actual iPhone itself. It sounds at times as though the iPhone is being offered for $51 for 8gb or $61 for 16gb on a plan that is only $19 a month and only under a 12 month contract. To be clear though, these prices are PER MONTH charges, not one off. So in the end, you'll pay over $600 for the 8gb iPhone on the cheapest plan.

Secondly, are the Australians so stupid that they would fall for these "pay $59, get $350 worth of calls" plans? I mean, look at those per minute charges, they are incredible. If they do, I should go there and offer everyone a plan for $100 a month - you'll get $1,000,000 worth of calls a month! In small print I'll note that it costs $100,000 per minute to call. Seems quite unusual.

Like I said in the first post, I believe you are right. Which in the end, makes these plans pretty crap.

not so ... keep in mind ...

- in australia these prices include sales tax and no activation fee.
- in australia there is no charge for receiving calls.
- a A$79 Yes Cap plan is similar to a basic at&t plan which costs about US$75 with sms ... my quick calculations suggest that you could get up to 40 to 50% more minutes on the optus plan ... plus you get the 16GB iphone for $48 which is nearly US$300 cheaper than at&t when you add sales tax and activation fee.
- the only area where at&t is clearly ahead is in unlimited data and perhaps the large amount of evening and weekend free minutes.

- in australia these prices include sales tax and no activation fee.
- in australia there is no charge for receiving calls.
- a A$79 Yes Cap plan is similar to a basic at&t plan which costs about US$75 with sms ... my quick calculations suggest that you could get up to 40 to 50% more minutes on the Optus plan ... plus you get the 16GB iphone for $48 which is nearly US$300 cheaper than At&t when you add sales tax and activation fee.
- the only area where at&t is clearly ahead is in unlimited data and perhaps the large amount of evening and weekend free minutes.

Your calculations are off. The iPhone costs 12 payments of $37, so thats $444 compared to the $299 you pay in the states. The fact that you only get 700mb data makes this deal a lot worse than the American one.

But when I say these deals are not very good, I don't mean on an Australian scale, I'm talking about in relation to other deals world wide. The Dutch get unlimited data, 150 minutes and 150 texts for $50 (29 euros). UK deal is similar. This deal is poor compared to that.

Hey What about some basic economics for you, we live in a global freesih economy, so the exchange rate is important. Keeping in mind the real appreciation the Aussie dollar has had against the $US in the last year, from 70 cents or so up to 95 today. The Zimbabwean dollar has not appreciated in value against other currencies, it has depreciated.

Hey What about some basic economics for you, we live in a global freesih economy, so the exchange rate is important. Keeping in mind the real appreciation the Aussie dollar has had against the $US in the last year, from 70 cents or so up to 95 today. The Zimbabwean dollar has not appreciated in value against other currencies, it has depreciated.

morgan - you missed my sarcastic point ... i was just trying to say that currencies are not weaker or stronger based on whether they exchange for more or less than 100 US cents. Its the purchasing power of one unit of currency that matters.

Your calculations are off. The iPhone costs 12 payments of $37, so thats $444 compared to the $299 you pay in the states. The fact that you only get 700mb data makes this deal a lot worse than the American one.
.

sorry buddy ... you need to re-read the chart.

for a 24 month contract it is 24 payments by $2 per month = $48

(i was deliberately comparing 24 month contracts as that is what at&t insists on)

you are right about the data rates in australia though ... my hope is that after a few months and tens of thousands of people being shocked by their amassed data charges there will be a press backlash and the carriers will be forced to offer up more data ... one can pray

I'm emmigrating to Australia in early august, so i'm quite interested in this. Compared to the UK plans it seems extremely convoluted and not really a very good deal. But i'm be interested in hearing from some of AppleInsider's Aussie readers for their take.

At the end of the day, though we think in global terms, each market is individual and comparing international markets that have vastly different telco pricing structures and pricing is only so helpful.

And in relation to someone else's post: do Americans pay to _receive_ calls? I mean, if I'm overseas with international roaming I have to pay a roaming fee to receive calls. That seems fair enough, because I'm piggybacking off another network. But when you're on your home network? WTF?

No way Vodafone's 5GB for $39 and Three's 1GB for $15 are far better value and have been out for longer.

Both are not intended for your mobile phone...instead using a USB dongle for your computer...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maffrew

I'm emmigrating to Australia in early august, so i'm quite interested in this. Compared to the UK plans it seems extremely convoluted and not really a very good deal. But i'm be interested in hearing from some of AppleInsider's Aussie readers for their take.

At the end of the day, though we think in global terms, each market is individual and comparing international markets that have vastly different telco pricing structures and pricing is only so helpful.

They aren't bad plans- I think the $59 and $79 caps represent the best value, on 24 month contracts. Optus have a good nationwide network, and solid support. I'd take them over 3 anyday. We're just waiting to see what Vodafone can produce to see if they better Optus on this one.

But overall, I'm pretty happy with those plans. Be nice if the prepaid price was perhaps $650ish for the 8gb, but oh well

And in relation to someone else's post: do Americans pay to _receive_ calls? I mean, if I'm overseas with international roaming I have to pay a roaming fee to receive calls. That seems fair enough, because I'm piggybacking off another network. But when you're on your home network? WTF?

You seem just as astounded as Americans are to learn that the rest of the world doesn't pay for incoming calls, but you are right.

What is the biggest joke is that you also pay for incoming text messages! You don't even have a choice whether to receive them, unlike picking up the phone. Even when I'm roaming, I don't pay for that. I still don't know what stops people from using an online SMS sending service to send 1000 text messages to someone they don't like, which they'll have to pay 25c each for after their free messages run out.

Would be great if an American could confirm this though - the fact that you do indeed pay for incoming texts.

You seem just as astounded as Americans are to learn that the rest of the world doesn't pay for incoming calls, but you are right.

What is the biggest joke is that you also pay for incoming text messages! Even when I'm roaming, I don't pay for that. I still don't know what stops people from using an online SMS sending service to send 1000 text messages to someone they don't like, which they'll have to pay 25c each for after their free messages run out.

If you have a spam problem, call the carrier and they will adjust your bill for you.

We don't ever see big headlines on the internet about such problems in the US --- so it is not a real life issue at all.

It doesn't matter whether you pay for incoming calls or not --- it only matters that consumers get lower overall out-of-pocket charges at the end. It is very easy to compare US rates --- that's a good thing for consumers. Basically all the plans have some sort of unlimited on net mobile to mobile minutes, and some sort of unlimited weeknights/weekends --- and Americans don't differentiate whether you are calling a mobile phone or a landline phone and they don't differentiate whether you are calling or receiving.

For consumers --- you only need 2 things: (1) enough competitors in the market and (2) clear pricing standards.

It appears that no matter what country the iPhone is offered in, you need to have a lawyer's eye to spot where you're being shafted. And make no mistake, everyone of them shafts you somewhere (no SMS, 50-cents a minute calling, no voicemail, huge early cancellation fee, etc.)

I guess this is what happens when they know they've got a product we're all going to fawn over. As huge an Apple fan as I am, I really can't wait until the competitors catch up so that there's some competition-induced rationality brought to bear on these plans.

Except, unbelievably, in the UK. One up-front fee for the iPhone on low monthly tariff plans, then a very average-for-the-UK monthly plan with unlimited data and many many more minutes and texts than any other country reviewed so far.

I can't believe it myself. Fine, total cost of ownership may be high (due to conversion rates) but locally, the deals are pretty good.

And to continue a point raised above by other posters - we don't pay for anything incoming over here either. Only outgoing calls and texts. So if my mum calls my mobile from her landline, we get very cheap calls indeed and I don't use up any of my minutes.

I don't see why the US doesn't adopt the 'caller pays' model that the rest of the world uses. Makes much more sense. In reality your 500 inclusive minutes will get eaten up much more quickly than mine.

I don't see why the US doesn't adopt the 'caller pays' model that the rest of the world uses. Makes much more sense. In reality your 500 inclusive minutes will get eaten up much more quickly than mine.

well, you all fail to mention that the caller in europe pays alot of money per minute for the honor of calling a cell phone even if the person is just around the corner. this can be anything from a few cents to 20 or more per minute, way more than int. calls, so where is the benefit?? customers in the u.s. can chose a plan and/or carrier with free incoming minutes if this is an issue.

And in relation to someone else's post: do Americans pay to _receive_ calls? I mean, if I'm overseas with international roaming I have to pay a roaming fee to receive calls. That seems fair enough, because I'm piggybacking off another network. But when you're on your home network? WTF?

Yep, and no one over here has any problem with it because we typically get bundles of minutes that are far far far larger than the rest of the countries that don't work that way.

Both systems work fine, and both systems sound totally stupid to people using the other system. No need for "WTF."

well, you all fail to mention that the caller in europe pays alot of money per minute for the honor of calling a cell phone even if the person is just around the corner. this can be anything from a few cents to 20 or more per minute, way more than int. calls, so where is the benefit?? customers in the u.s. can chose a plan and/or carrier with free incoming minutes if this is an issue.

Exactly.

Look, people. In the US, all local calls you make from a land line are 100% totally free. So if you call a cell phone and the cell user does not pay for an incoming call, then NO ONE pays for that call. In the US, land line users pay to make calls, and pay differently depending on how much the recipient is paying (IE pay differently if they are calling a cell phone or a land line, from what I understand).

So, the bottom line is, total cost is all that matters. SOMEONE will be paying for the call, whether it's the maker or the sender. **NO** it does not make more sense to do it one way or the other, in the end people in the US get TONS of minutes for what they pay - we look at European cell phone rate plans and they don't make any sense. $50 a month and you get 150 minutes? How could that possibly work? And everyone else looks at our plans and says the same thing.

The fact is, everyone in the end pays about the same prices, governed generally by local cost of living and competition in the cell sector. The differences in who pays for calls and texts do not cause price differences.

I don't see why the US doesn't adopt the 'caller pays' model that the rest of the world uses. Makes much more sense. In reality your 500 inclusive minutes will get eaten up much more quickly than mine.

Unless you don't max out your call here in the US with AT&T and the "rollover" unused minutes carry over to the next month and build up well over what anyone would ever need.

Ten years ago, we had Steve Jobs, Bob Hope and Johnny Cash. Today we have no Jobs, no Hope and no Cash.

Unless you don't max out your call here in the US with AT&T and the "rollover" unused minutes carry over to the next month and build up well over what anyone would ever need.

i got the 'contract-less' iphone deal with only 200 minutes a month, and guess what? as i only use the phone to actually convey a message or get calls with some actual information i NEVER use up my minutes. in fact i usually have around $50-$70 in credit on my line.

for endless chit chatting i have 2 broadvoice lines at home, with which i can call most of the world unlimited for a flat fee of $30 per month/line. broadvoice is a much better deal than vonage....

I don't see why the US doesn't adopt the 'caller pays' model that the rest of the world uses. Makes much more sense. In reality your 500 inclusive minutes will get eaten up much more quickly than mine.

It is highly more likely that Europe is going to adopt the US system of charging than the other way around.

I moved from EU to california before cell phones took off. ( 12 years ago ) i pretty much grew up with US cell phone system. Now that i moved back to EU i cant grasp what moron came up with this EU plan.

This plan and that plan and so many minutes inside network and so many minutes outside the network and weekend , 7pm , 7am and ...... wtf is going on ? just gimmie 400 minutes for 40eurros ( incomming and outgoing ) and leave me the fuk alone with other nonsense.

Oh well , at least i'm not with Verizon , that network in SoCal was dropping calls like flies.

You seem just as astounded as Americans are to learn that the rest of the world doesn't pay for incoming calls, but you are right.

What is the biggest joke is that you also pay for incoming text messages! You don't even have a choice whether to receive them, unlike picking up the phone. Even when I'm roaming, I don't pay for that. I still don't know what stops people from using an online SMS sending service to send 1000 text messages to someone they don't like, which they'll have to pay 25c each for after their free messages run out.

Would be great if an American could confirm this though - the fact that you do indeed pay for incoming texts.

And it keeps getting worse. Not too long ago, Verizon charged those who didn't have a text plan 10 cents for outgoing messages, and two cents (about 1p) for incoming ones. Now they charge you, get this, 15 cents coming or going. $5 a month gets you a bucket of a lot of text messages, can't remember if it's 250 or 500.

However there are loopholes on voice that other countries don't have. For example, all but one of my close relatives and all but one of my close out of town friends are on Verizon. I don't pay to call them. It's unlimited. Any time. Any place. Anywhere in the US I can get a CDMA signal at this point. They don't pay to call me. I don't pay to take their calls. We're all Verizon customers. And Verizon customers call each other for free as long as both ends of the call are in the US.

In practice, of my typical monthly usage of about 1,000 minutes, fewer than 100 are actually billable, and those fewer than 100 are the only calls that count against my 450 minute plan.

In a way it's quite ludicrous. The bandwidth on voice so exceeds text. And yet they so charge you for text.

I think it's part of a broader phenomenon in which hardly any American politician or business leader over the age of 50 understands the internet or indeed any kind of data transmission; they just understand fads and how much you can charge for them as long as they remain trendy.